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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Bangladesh Index
Figure 1. Administrative Divisions of Bangladesh, 1988
THE WORLD FREQUENTLY RECEIVES bad news from Bangladesh. So adverse
is the economic situation in Bangladesh that some have referred to
it not as a Third World developing nation but as member of the
"fourth world," the poorest of the poor. Its population of 110
million--the eighth largest in the world--lives on constricted land
affected by an unkind climate. There is relatively little industry,
and most people live at the subsistence level in rural areas. The
political system is unstable, characterized by military coups,
authoritarian regimes, civil violence, and a poor human rights
record. Adding to the nation's woes are natural disasters. Tropical
storms whipping in from the Bay of Bengal have repeatedly
devastated the country, causing huge losses of life. In 1988 record
floods caused by monsoon rains inundated two-thirds of the country,
setting back economic growth. International lending and aid
institutions bolster the country, but the problems are so massive
that no one predicts near-term major improvements.
Despite its problems, Bangladesh is a land of miracles and
heroic accomplishments. Using traditional methods, farmers manage
to produce enough food to maintain one of the densest
concentrations of rural people in the world. The Bangladeshi people
have liberated themselves twice, from the British and from the
Pakistanis. Perhaps the greatest deeds are cultural. The Bangla
language has a distinguished history in literature and remains one
of the most dynamic forces in South Asian arts and humanities. In
Bangladesh, local language and artistic forms are combined with the
Islamic religion in a special blend of orthodoxy and cultural
nationalism. United by strong village traditions, the struggle for
existence, the legacy of the freedom movement, the Bangla language,
and Islam, most Bangladeshis retain considerable optimism and pride
in their nation.
The economic and political situation in Bangladesh has its
roots in the complex relationship between its unusual geography and
its history during the last 200 years. Most of the country is a
low-lying delta where four major river systems come together. The
land is subject to heavy annual monsoon flooding followed by a long
dry season. The extreme conditions support a fertile environment
for agriculture but often demand a high cost from cultivators, who
are confronted with the conflicting demands of irrigation systems
and flood prevention measures. For these reasons, the area that is
Bangladesh remained a frontier until the last few centuries, and
the wild characteristics of the frontier still dominate society on
newly formed islands that continually emerge along the courses of
silty rivers and along the coast.
High mountain walls to the north and the east block easy access
to East Asia and Southeast Asia, orienting the country toward
Indian civilization, but from the Indian standpoint Bangladesh
stands on the periphery of culture and politics. While the
hallmarks of civilization first appeared in northwest India and
Pakistan at least 4,000 years ago, and a vibrant urban society
existed in north India by 500 B.C., large-scale social organization
in the area that became Bangladesh developed only by the seventh
century A.D. The peripheral position of Bangladesh allowed the
long-term survival there of cultural motifs that had been absorbed
into history in most other parts of the subcontinent. Buddhism, for
example, survived in Bangladesh as a royal cult and a popular
religion long after it had died out in most of India. Even during
the Mughal Empire (1526-1858), the neglected eastern wing of the
province of
Bengal (see Glossary)
became part of a pan-Indian
political system but remained a scene of political disunity and
piracy. Under these conditions the population remained relatively
small until the nineteenth century, and there was little indication
of the intense pressure on resources that would develop by the
twentieth century. European traders arrived in the region in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by following traditional Indian
Ocean trade routes. They found a prosperous Bengal dotted with
small commercial centers where a dynamic handloom weaving industry
produced world-class textiles. As the power of the Mughal Empire
waned in the early eighteenth century, the British East India
Company became the dominant force in Bengal, but with fateful
consequences. The British chose Calcutta in West Bengal as the
center of their operations, resulting in a decisive westward shift
of commercial interests and capital. The conquest of Bengal
coincided with Europe's Industrial Revolution, driven in its early
stages by the mechanization of the British textile industry.
British policy deliberately discouraged the export of finished
textiles to Britain and instead encouraged the spread of
British-made goods in the colonies. The handloom industry was
ruined, resulting in the collapse of the old commercial networks in
Bengal. Meanwhile, British and Indian entrepreneurs looking for
investment opportunities in the East Bengal countryside found that
rice would support the growing population in Calcutta and that jute
would satisfy the world market for sacking material.
As a result of these forces, during the nineteenth century East
Bengal became a purely agricultural society, dominated by rice and
jute, with few opportunities in commerce or manufacturing. The
British administration provided some basic public works for
irrigation and transportation, encouraged land reclamation,
prevented large-scale warfare, and implemented rudimentary public
health measure. The policies of the British encouraged population
growth but at the same time discouraged the urban and industrial
development that had absorbed population increases in Europe. By
the twentieth century, rapid population increases were outstripping
advances in agriculture, and millions of Bengalis were trapped in
subsistence agriculture with no alternative form of livelihood.
As nationalism began to grow in South Asia during the late
nineteenth century, it accompanied a worldwide Islamic revival that
found a rich field for expression in East Bengal. British education
and economic opportunities under the colonial government tended to
benefit Hindus, who dominated the jute and rice trade and formed a
landlord class, while the mass of poor cultivators were mostly
Muslims. The British encouraged communal religious consciousness by
implementing limited election systems with separate electorates for
Hindus and Muslims, a strategy that preserved the rights of
minority communities but also allowed the colonial administration
to play one side against the other throughout the early twentieth
century. The profound doctrinal differences between Hinduism and
Islam, the disproportionate opportunities for Hindus and Muslims in
the colonial economy, and the growing political competition created
a widening rift between the two religious communities. Muslim
leaders in Bengal, aware of the deepening economic crisis there,
argued at an early date for the separation of the eastern and
western parts of Bengal, allowing the Muslim majority in the east
greater expression in determining their destiny. The British
government responded by dividing Bengal in 1905 but after only
seven years rescinded the order, due to pressure throughout India
from nationalist forces dominated, in the eyes of Bengali Muslims,
by Hindu interests. By the 1940s, when British and Japanese armies
were fighting nearby and famine had killed hundreds of thousands of
people, the masses of Muslim Bengalis backed the All-India Muslim
League (Muslim League), established in 1906, with its call for a
separate Islamic state. Amid widespread communal violence, during
which many East Bengal Hindus migrated to Hindu areas of India,
East Bengal became part of the new nation of Pakistan in 1947 as
the East Wing, or East Pakistan.
The issue of language, which quickly divided East Pakistan and
West Pakistan, was a symbol for the unique role of Islam in the
culture of East Pakistan. Conversion to Islam in Bengal had been a
movement of the masses since the twelfth century, a rebellion
against caste ideology that had kept peasants subservient to
landlords. Embracing Islam did not mean the adoption of a new,
elite language and culture, however. Instead, the ancient Bangla
language, which was based on Sanskrit, remained a vital force and
had relatively few imports of Arabic or Persian terminology. The
Bangla renaissance, a literary movement in reaction to British
education in the late nineteenth century, found its roots in the
long and rich history of Bengali folk literature and produced Nobel
Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore. The love of Bangla that permeated
all levels of society had links with a large and well-known
religious literature created by mystic poets who spread the love of
God regardless of communal differences. The doctrinal positions of
Bengali Islam were orthodox, but a wide variety of popular
religious practices linked originally to polytheism remained
important in the countryside.
This web of Bangla language and culture was alien to the
leaders of West Pakistan. Outside of Bengal, the preferred language
of South Asian Muslims was Urdu, a combination of Sanskritic
languages and Persian with a large admixture of Arabic terms. The
reforming ideology of many Muslim nationalists in north and
northwest India aimed at a return to the original message of
Muhammad and a revival of Islam's Arabic roots. Mohammad Ali
Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, expressed the viewpoint of the
majority in the Muslim League when he argued for one
language--Urdu--that would unify the two wings of the nation. In
1952 the attempts to impose Urdu as the second language in East
Pakistan provoked severe riots, leading to the death of two
students--an event still remembered in Bangladesh as Martyrs' Day,
an annual holiday celebrating the survival of Bangla. Until 1971
the language issue continued to boil, as Bengali nationalists
refused to compromise their long-standing cultural traditions.
Neither East Pakistan nor West Pakistan had experienced
democratic government until their separation from India in 1947,
but the British-educated leaders of the Muslim League were
determined to implement parliamentary rule. The task proved nearly
impossible. The country was under constant pressure from India, the
government and economy had to be constructed anew, ethnic divisions
rocked West Pakistan, and neglect of East Pakistan by the central
government pushed the nation toward civil war. Amid a political
crisis, the minister of defense, General Mohammad Ayub Khan,
accumulated increasing powers under the constitution and finally
implemented military rule over Pakistan in 1958. He later
engineered elections that made him president and allowed a return
to parliamentary government dominated by his own party and military
interests. The pattern of crisis, military takeover, and return to
democracy directed by the generals was to recur in Pakistan and
Bangladesh.
After the bloody war of independence in 1971, the leaders of
Bangladesh implemented a republican form of government, directed by
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Mujib). As the new administration tried to
cope with huge economic problems, it did not take long for the
traditional factionalism of Bengali politics to resurface in the
new nation. Mujib's party was committed to socialist
reconstruction, but communist and socialist groups advocated
further revolutionary change while conservative religious and
military interests opposed socialism. Mujib began to implement an
authoritarian, single-party dictatorship in 1974, but military
factions revolted the following year, killed him along with most of
his family, and plunged the nation into a period of chaos. Army
chief of staff General Ziaur Rahman (Zia) accumulated more and more
power and finally implemented martial law in 1976. He organized his
own political party, manipulated elections that packed Parliament
with his supporters, and became president in national elections in
1978. The rise to power of military interests followed closely the
pattern set earlier by Ayub and the army in Pakistan.
The parallels with Pakistan continued during the 1980s. After
the loss of Bangladesh, Pakistani politics had drifted under
civilian regimes until 1977, when General Zia ul Haq took control
and directed the nation until his sudden death in an air crash in
August 1988. His regime slowly returned to a parliamentary
government directed by his own party. In Bangladesh, President
Zia's assassination in 1981 deprived the country of its most
effective leader since independence. After a brief interlude under
a weak civilian government, army chief of staff Lieutenant General
Hussain Muhammad Ershad took power in a bloodless coup. Ershad's
policies during the 1980s centered on creating his own political
party, packing Parliament with his supporters, and winning election
as president in 1986. By 1988 Bangladesh was officially a republic
with a popularly elected government, but Ershad's Jatiyo Party
(National Party) dominated all levels of administration and
representative government. The parliamentary system allowed
political opposition, however, and a wide range of political
parties remained active, headed by the political successors of
Mujib and Zia. The political opposition refused to give legitimacy
to Ershad and his military supporters and generally declined to
participate in parliamentary elections. Instead, the opposition
organized periodic demonstrations and strikes that disrupted the
country. The opposition was plagued with political factionalism
that permeated Bangladeshi politics down to the village level, and
frequent states of emergency kept coalitions from forming an
effective unified front. Meanwhile, administrative reforms under
Ershad's regime allowed the voters to elect popular representatives
to local governing bodies with a wide range of authority, giving
local elites and the electorate a real stake in Ershad's political
system. In the late 1980s, it appeared that military democracy was
entrenched for the long term in Bangladesh.
The grim economic situation remained the most important problem
for the young nation. Decades of skewed development under the
British, followed by neglect under Pakistan and the destruction
caused by the 1971 war, left the country prostrate during the early
1970s. The Mujib and Zia years witnessed major accomplishments in
repairing damage and setting up the basic administrative machinery
needed to run the country. At no time after independence, however,
did Bangladesh experience sustained rates of economic growth
sufficient to allow the country to outrun population growth and
enter a period of rapid development. With few mineral resources,
almost no industrial infrastructure, and a mostly unskilled labor
force, Bangladesh depended on imports for most of the basic
requirements of a modern nation. Its exports, on the other hand,
were agricultural commodities, especially jute, that declined in
real value and were subject to uncontrolled fluctuations in world
demand. Under these circumstances, the economy depended on large
annual inputs of foreign aid. In fact, since independence more than
85 percent of the annual development budget of Bangladesh relied on
foreign aid receipts. Without this aid, the country would certainly
have experienced disaster; with the aid, the economy achieved
stability and even registered moderate advances that allowed it to
survive.
In its unenviable status as "largest poorest" country in the
world, Bangladesh was a test case for development strategies. The
Mujib government nationalized the jute industry and other major
industries, and the officially expressed purpose of the country was
to build a socialist economy. In the first years after
independence, there were serious thoughts of nationalizing all
economic endeavors and collectivizing agriculture, a major
departure from the traditional system of private ownership. Under
the more conservative governments of Zia and Ershad, however,
Bangladesh increasingly withdrew from the socialist path, and the
administration slowly denationalized commercial and industrial
enterprises. As the centrally planned economy declined,
decentralized development strategies and private initiative became
more important and were supported by large international donors,
such as the
World Bank (see Glossary) and the
International Monetary Fund (see Glossary).
In rural areas, the government administered aid to major
irrigation and flood control projects, while allotting an
increasing percentage of resources to local government bodies at
the subdistrict (upazila) level staffed by civil servants
but directed by elected local representatives. This process
funneled capital and decision-making power into the hands of
relatively wealthy or influential local elites, who then created
employment opportunities for land- poor or landless laborers. In
urban areas, development concentrated on major infrastructure
projects such as power plants, as well as the encouragement of
private enterprise for the export sector. By encouraging private
industry, the government and international donors aimed to create
jobs that would eventually provide an alternate source of income to
unskilled or semiskilled laborers. The 1980s witnessed some major
industrial advances, including a remarkable expansion of the
ready-made garment industry and an export-oriented processed
seafood industry. But was it enough? The underlying assumption of
these development strategies was that urban capitalists and rural
elites could create enough new jobs to outrun population increases
in the future. The unanswered questions were whether the masses of
poor workers would benefit quickly enough or whether they would
rebel as they witnessed the growth of an influential Bangladeshi
middle class. Massive popular unrest, encouraged by the political
opposition, was an ever-present alternative to the government's
development strategies.
The necessity for development aid underlay the foreign policy
of Bangladesh, which remained decidedly nonaligned in world
politics. During the first few years of independence, a close
relationship with India reflected the early political isolation of
Bangladesh and its dependence on its big neighbor for military
protection as well as economic support. After achieving recognition
by most countries, including Pakistan, by 1975 Bangladesh was ready
to diversify its international connections when Mujib's death
severed the special relationship with India and a concomitant one
with the Soviet Union. The subsequent Zia and Ershad governments
moved closer to the sources of aid: Japan, the United States,
Canada, Western Europe, China, the wealthy Arab nations, and the
big international lending agencies. At no time, however, did
Bangladesh subordinate its foreign policy to its dependence on
foreign donors. As a member of major international forums, such as
the United Nations, the Nonaligned Movement, and the Commonwealth
of Nations, Bangladesh advocated a new international economic order
and an end to superpower interference in the affairs of sovereign
states. Bangladesh's status as a populous but poor country without
foreign alliances allowed it to take outspoken stands and to play
a leading role among the nations of the Third World.
High international visibility and clear neutrality were
important security strategies for Bangladesh because the nation's
military capacity was insufficient to effectively defend the
country against foreign adversaries. The most likely foe was India,
which surrounds Bangladesh on three sides and could quickly overrun
the country. Disputes with India began during the trauma of
separation in 1947, were glossed over during the honeymoon period
of the early 1970s, and began again in earnest during the late
1970s. Despite the intense nationalist feelings on both sides of
the border, it seemed unlikely that India (or any other nation)
would launch an attack, risking world censure and bringing in its
wake the inherited problems of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh maintained, with help from China and other nations,
an army of 90,000 personnel, a small air force and navy, and
several paramilitary border and security forces. The roles of these
forces in national defense were in reality subordinate to their
roles in internal security. Military leaders repeatedly used the
military to launch coups or to maintain order during massive
campaigns of civil disobedience by the opposition parties. The army
was also involved in ongoing counterinsurgency operations against
tribal groups in the Chittagong Hills, where guerrillas of tribal
minorities were fighting for independence. The ever-present threat
of army intervention guaranteed the continuation of either military
regimes or democratic governments that clearly represented the
interests of the armed forces.
In the late 1980s, there was still hope for Bangladesh. The
gigantic economic disasters predicted in the early 1970s remained
possibilities, and many smaller calamities did occur, but
Bangladeshis showed a striking ability to survive and make
progress. The population continued to increase, but the rate of
increase declined. Living conditions remained poor, but starvation
was prevented. The government was authoritarian, but the rule of
law and parliament continued. The economy advanced very slowly, but
it did advance and showed signs of agrarian expansion and
industrial diversification. Bangladesh maintained a high profile in
international affairs and avoided military conflict with any
foreign power, guaranteeing the high levels of foreign aid
necessary for economic survival. Through it all, the rich cultural
heritage of the Bangladeshis supported a remarkably tolerant
Islamic society that held the allegiance of its people.
September 30, 1988
* * *
After the manuscript for this book was completed in the summer
of 1988, two calamitous events--both related to weather--occurred
in Bangladesh. Floods devastated Bangladesh in the summer of 1988,
and in the fall a killer cyclone hit the still-beleaguered nation.
As in the past, the resilient people of Bangladesh confronted the
disastrous effects on the nation's economy with government
assistance and international aid.
The floods--caused by heavy monsoon runoff in the
Himalayas--started in August 1988 and were described as the worst
in the country's history. Nearly 47 million people and an area of
more than 120,000 of the nation's 144,000 square kilometers were
affected. In some districts the entire population was left
homeless. Flood waters were deeper than ever recorded before, and
for the first time Zia International Airport near Dhaka had to be
closed when its runways were inundated, an occurrence that further
hindered relief operations. Statistics provided by the government
were grim: 53 of the country's 64 districts affected; some 4
million hectares of crops completely destroyed and an additional 3
million partially destroyed; and some 100,000 head of cattle lost.
Because of improved preparedness over previous years--some 1.5
million tons of food and ample supplies of medicine had been
strategically stockpiled, and some 3,000 civilian and military
medical teams were dispatched--the loss of human life was
mitigated: just over 1,600 died from the direct cause of flooding,
and about 500 died from diseases resulting from the floods. The
nation's infrastructure, however, suffered considerably. More than
40 railroad bridges, nearly 640 kilometers of railroad track, and
nearly 68,000 kilometers of roads were damaged, and more than
10,000 education institutions were partially or completely
destroyed. The international community responded with in-kind and
financial relief and rehabilitation aid of more than US$500
million.
Government efforts to rebuild water control projects destroyed
in previous years' flooding were too little and too late to
withstand the major floods of 1988. In the midst of the flooding,
President Ershad called for the cooperation of China, India,
Bhutan, and Nepal--the location of the sources of the major rivers
that flow from the Himalayas and foothills of the Himalayas into
Bangladesh--in determining the cause of his country's misery.
Environmental factors upriver, such as heavy deforestation,
burgeoning populations, and overutilization of critical resources,
were seen as having exacerbated the 1988 flooding. Heavy runoff
through the flat, overpopulated, and heavily planted Bangladesh
Plain--the catch basin for the great Himalayan rivers--was too much
for the manmade drainage system still recovering from the 1987
floods. Although flood control was seen by some observers as the
responsibility of Bangladesh, regional cooperation in water
management and land-use policy was essential.
Just three months after the summer floods had hit and the
fertile soil was again green with crops, a cyclone hit southeastern
Bangladesh November 29-30. About 600 persons were killed, and more
than 100 ships and smaller vessels sank or ran aground as 2-meter
surges hit coastal areas.
Amidst perennial disasters, Bangladesh continued to gird itself
for the 1990s. The number one priority continued to be efforts to
reduce the rate of population growth from 2.6 percent to 1.8
percent per annum by 1990. Self-sufficiency in food was next in the
order of targeted goals, followed by efforts to further
industrialize the country in the ready-made garment, frozen
seafood, jute, and leather products industries. The manufacture of
electronic components, started only in 1985 and designed for export
to Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United States, was seen in 1989 as
a key sector for improvement.
May 20, 1989
James Heitzman and Robert L. Worden
Data as of September 1988
- Bangladesh-Government Budget Process
- Bangladesh-Rural Society
- Bangladesh-Inland Waterways and Ports TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
- Bangladesh-Biofuels
- Bangladesh-Telecommunications
- Bangladesh-Aid Dependence
- Bangladesh-Industrial Crops
- Bangladesh-Women in Politics
- Bangladesh-The Zia Regime and Its Aftermath, 1977-82
- Bangladesh-United States
- Bangladesh-Population Control
- Bangladesh-Constitution STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT
- Bangladesh-Social Classes and Stratification
- Bangladesh-Health Care Facilities
- Bangladesh-Export Sectors FOREIGN TRADE
- Bangladesh-Awami League
- Bangladesh-THE MILITARY IN THE LATE 1980s
- Bangladesh-Foreign Governments and Private Donors
- Bangladesh-Defense Spending
- Bangladesh-ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- Bangladesh-Legislature
- Bangladesh-Reappraisal of British Policy
- Bangladesh-Violence and Crime PUBLIC ORDER AND INTERNAL SECURITY
- Bangladesh-Development Budget
- Bangladesh-Education Planning and Policy
- Bangladesh-Wheat
- Bangladesh-BANGLADESH
- Bangladesh-The "Revolution" of Ayub Khan, 1958-66
- Bangladesh-Islam
- Bangladesh-Economic Reconstruction after Independence
- Bangladesh-THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT AND THE RISE OF MUSLIM CONSCIOUSNESS, 1857-1947
- Bangladesh-Hinduism
- Bangladesh-Transition to Nationhood, 1947-58 PAKISTAN PERIOD, 1947-71
- Bangladesh-Bangladesh Rifles
- Bangladesh-Navy
- Bangladesh-Colonial Origins ARMED FORCES AND SOCIETY
- Bangladesh-Criminal Justice
- Bangladesh-PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS
- Bangladesh-Tourism
- Bangladesh-Foreign Acquisitions and Ties
- Bangladesh-Chapter 5 - National Security
- Bangladesh-Foreword
- Bangladesh-United Nations
- Bangladesh-Society
- Bangladesh-Party Politics
- Bangladesh-Postindependence Period
- Bangladesh-The British Raj
- Bangladesh-Recruitment
- Bangladesh-Insurgency in the Chittagong Hills
- Bangladesh-Technological Advances
- Bangladesh-The Land GEOGRAPHY
- Bangladesh-Buddhism
- Bangladesh-Jute
- Bangladesh-Local Elites POLITICAL DYNAMICS
- Bangladesh-Historical Perspective ECONOMIC CONTEXT
- Bangladesh-National Security
- Bangladesh-Economic Policy and Planning MANAGING THE ECONOMY
- Bangladesh-Population Structure and Settlement Patterns POPULATION
- Bangladesh-FOREIGN POLICY
- Bangladesh-Achieving Stability, 1982-83 THE ERSHAD PERIOD
- Bangladesh-Geography
- Bangladesh-Restoration of Military Rule, 1975-77
- Bangladesh-Early Independence Period, 1971-72 BIRTH OF BANGLADESH
- Bangladesh-Islam in Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-Ansars
- Bangladesh-Coal
- Bangladesh-Other Industries
- Bangladesh-Islamic Parties
- Bangladesh-The British Legacy EDUCATION
- Bangladesh-Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand
- Bangladesh-Early Settlements EUROPEAN COLONIZATION, 1757-1857
- Bangladesh-The Superpowers
- Bangladesh-Disease and Disease Control
- Bangladesh-Railroads
- Bangladesh-Executive
- Bangladesh-Chapter 3 - The Economy
- Bangladesh-Other Nations
- Bangladesh-Balance and Terms of Trade
- Bangladesh-River Systems
- Bangladesh-Early Developments in Islam
- Bangladesh-Two Nations Concept, 1930-47
- Bangladesh-Education System
- Bangladesh -Country Profile
- Bangladesh-Mission
- Bangladesh-Civil Aviation
- Bangladesh-Council of Ministers
- Bangladesh-Medical Education and Training
- Bangladesh-Police
- Bangladesh-China and Other Asian Nations
- Bangladesh-Transportation and Communications
- Bangladesh-EARLY HISTORY, 1000 B.C.-A.D - 1202
- Bangladesh-Fall of the Bangabandhu, 1972-75
- Bangladesh-Other Export Industries
- Bangladesh-Chapter 2 - The Society and Its Environment
- Bangladesh-Role of English and Arabic in Education
- Bangladesh-A Great Divide in South Asian History THE UPRISING OF 1857
- Bangladesh-Chapter 4 - Government and Politics
- Bangladesh-Bangladesh National Party
- Bangladesh-The Division of Bengal, 1905-12
- Bangladesh-Transition to a New Social Order SOCIAL SYSTEM
- Bangladesh-Pakistan Era
- Bangladesh-Test Case for Development FOREIGN ASSISTANCE
- Bangladesh-Ready-made Garments
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-Civil Service
- Bangladesh-AUXILIARY FORCES
- Bangladesh-Alliances
- Bangladesh-Government and Politics
- Bangladesh-More Opposition Pressure
- Bangladesh-Table A - Chronology of Important Events
- Bangladesh-Other Food Crops
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-Road Transportation
- Bangladesh-Mineral Development
- Bangladesh-Air Force
- Bangladesh-Traditional Sectors INDUSTRY
- Bangladesh-Leftist Parties
- Bangladesh-Seafood
- Bangladesh-Urban Society
- Bangladesh-Ethnicity and Linguistic Diversity
- Bangladesh-Garments
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-Relaxation of Martial Law, 1986-87
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-The National Party
- Bangladesh-HEALTH
- Bangladesh-The Islamic World
- Bangladesh-Army THE THREE SERVICES
- Bangladesh-Chapter 1 - Historical Setting
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-The Banking System
- Bangladesh-Fisheries
- Bangladesh-The Liberation War
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-Local Administration
- Bangladesh-International Organizations
- Bangladesh-Economy
- Bangladesh-The War for Bangladeshi Independence, 1971
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-Money and Banking
- Bangladesh-Introduction
- Bangladesh-Family, Household, and Kinship
- Bangladesh-Electric Power
- Bangladesh-Security Environment
- Bangladesh-Christianity
- Bangladesh-Pakistan
- Bangladesh-Joint Ventures and Foreign Investment
- Bangladesh-Religious Education
- Bangladesh-Climate
- Bangladesh-Aid-to-Civil Roles
- Bangladesh-Religion and Society RELIGION
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-Food Crops
- Bangladesh-THE MEDIA
- Bangladesh-Bilateral Investment
- Bangladesh-Structure of Agricultural Production AGRICULTURE
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-Legal Basis ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMED FORCES
- Bangladesh-PREFACE
- Bangladesh-Judiciary
- Bangladesh-South and Southeast Asia
Background | | Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh in the 16th century; eventually the British came to dominate the region and it became part of British India. In 1947, West Pakistan and East Bengal (both primarily Muslim) separated from India (largely Hindu) and jointly became the new country of Pakistan. East Bengal became East Pakistan in 1955, but the awkward arrangement of a two-part country with its territorial units separated by 1,600 km left the Bengalis marginalized and dissatisfied. East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan in 1971 and was renamed Bangladesh. A military-backed, emergency caretaker regime suspended parliamentary elections planned for January 2007 in an effort to reform the political system and root out corruption. In contrast to the strikes and violent street rallies that had marked Bangladeshi politics in previous years, the parliamentary elections finally held in late December 2008 were mostly peaceful and Sheikh HASINA Wajed was reelected prime minister. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development.
|
Location | | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
|
Area(sq km) | | total: 143,998 sq km land: 130,168 sq km water: 13,830 sq km
|
Geographic coordinates | | 24 00 N, 90 00 E
|
Land boundaries(km) | | total: 4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km
|
Coastline(km) | | 580 km
|
Climate | | tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)
|
Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m
|
Natural resources | | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal
|
Land use(%) | | arable land: 55.39% permanent crops: 3.08% other: 41.53% (2005)
|
Irrigated land(sq km) | | 47,250 sq km (2003)
|
Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 1,210.6 cu km (1999)
|
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 79.4 cu km/yr (3%/1%/96%) per capita: 560 cu m/yr (2000)
|
Natural hazards | | droughts; cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season
|
Environment - current issues | | many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; waterborne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation
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Environment - international agreements | | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note | | most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal
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Population | | 156,050,883 (July 2009 est.)
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Age structure(%) | | 0-14 years: 34.6% (male 27,065,625/female 26,913,961) 15-64 years: 61.4% (male 45,222,182/female 50,537,052) 65 years and over: 4% (male 3,057,255/female 3,254,808) (2009 est.)
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Median age(years) | | total: 23.3 years male: 22.9 years female: 23.5 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate(%) | | 1.292% (2009 est.)
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Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 24.68 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 9.23 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
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Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | -2.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 27% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 3.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio(male(s)/female) | | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births) | | total: 59.02 deaths/1,000 live births male: 66.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 51.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 60.25 years male: 57.57 years female: 63.03 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 2.74 children born/woman (2009 est.)
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Nationality | | noun: Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi
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Ethnic groups(%) | | Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims) (1998)
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Religions(%) | | Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)
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Languages(%) | | Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English
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Country name | | conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh local long form: Gana Prajatantri Banladesh local short form: Banladesh former: East Bengal, East Pakistan
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Government type | | parliamentary democracy
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Capital | | name: Dhaka geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 24 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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Administrative divisions | | 6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet
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Constitution | | 4 November 1972; effective 16 December 1972; suspended following coup of 24 March 1982; restored 10 November 1986; amended many times
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Legal system | | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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Suffrage | | 18 years of age; universal
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Executive branch | | chief of state: President Zillur RAHMAN (since 12 February 2009) head of government: Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA Wajed (since 6 January 2009) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); last election held on 11 February 2009 (next scheduled election to be held in 2014) election results: Zillur RAHMAN declared president-elect by the Election Commission on 11 February 2009 (sworn in on 12 February); he ran unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote - NA
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Legislative branch | | unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies; members serve five-year terms elections: last held 29 December 2008 (next to be held in 2013) election results: percent of vote by party - AL 49%, BNP 33.2%, JP 7%, JIB 4.6%, other 6.2%; seats by party - AL 230, BNP 30, JP 27, JIB 2, other 11
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Judicial branch | | Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president)
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Political pressure groups and leaders | | Advocacy to End Gender-based Violence through the MoWCA (Ministry of Women's and Children's Affairs) other: environmentalists; Islamist groups; religious leaders; teachers; union leaders
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International organization participation | | ADB, ARF, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Flag description | | green field with a large red disk shifted slightly to the hoist side of center; the red disk represents the rising sun and the sacrifice to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush vegetation of Bangladesh
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Economy - overview | | The economy has grown 5-6% per year since 1996 despite inefficient state-owned enterprises, delays in exploiting natural gas resources, insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product. Garment exports and remittances from Bangladeshis working overseas, mainly in the Middle East and East Asia, fuel economic growth. In 2008 Bangladesh pursued a monetary policy aimed at maintaining high employment, but created higher inflation in the process.
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GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $226.4 billion (2008 est.) $214 billion (2007 est.) $201.5 billion (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP (official exchange rate) | | $84.2 billion (2008 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 5.8% (2008 est.) 6.2% (2007 est.) 6.4% (2006 est.)
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GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $1,500 (2008 est.) $1,400 (2007 est.) $1,300 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 19.1% industry: 28.6% services: 52.3% (2008 est.)
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Labor force | | 70.86 million note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $4.8 billion in 2005-06. (2008 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture: 63% industry: 11% services: 26% (FY95/96)
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Unemployment rate(%) | | 2.5% (2008 est.) 2.5% (2007 est.)
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Population below poverty line(%) | | 45% (2004 est.)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: 4.3% highest 10%: 26.6% (2005)
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Distribution of family income - Gini index | | 33.2 (2005) 33.6 (1996)
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Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 24.3% of GDP (2008 est.)
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Budget | | revenues: $8.825 billion expenditures: $12.54 billion (2008 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 8.9% (2008 est.) 9.1% (2007 est.)
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Stock of money | | $9.294 billion (31 December 2008) $8.444 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of quasi money | | $37.98 billion (31 December 2008) $32.35 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of domestic credit | | $47.03 billion (31 December 2008) $40.1 billion (31 December 2007)
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Market value of publicly traded shares | | $6.671 billion (31 December 2008) $6.793 billion (31 December 2007) $3.61 billion (31 December 2006)
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Economic aid - recipient | | $1.321 billion (2005)
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Public debt(% of GDP) | | 39.4% of GDP (2008 est.) 43% of GDP (2004 est.)
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Agriculture - products | | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry
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Industries | | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar
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Industrial production growth rate(%) | | 6.9% (2008 est.)
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Current account balance | | $1.032 billion (2008 est.) $856.8 million (2007 est.)
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Exports | | $15.44 billion (2008 est.) $12.47 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports - commodities(%) | | garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood
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Exports - partners(%) | | US 21%, Germany 13.2%, UK 8.6%, France 6.3%, Netherlands 4.7% (2008)
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Imports | | $21.51 billion (2008 est.) $16.67 billion (2007 est.)
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Imports - commodities(%) | | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement
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Imports - partners(%) | | China 14.7%, India 14.7%, Kuwait 7.5%, Singapore 7.1%, Japan 4.1% (2008)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $5.789 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $5.278 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Debt - external | | $22.83 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $21.23 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | | $5.971 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $5.261 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | | $97 million (31 December 2008 est.)
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Exchange rates | | taka (BDT) per US dollar - 68.554 (2008 est.), 69.893 (2007), 69.031 (2006), 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004)
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Currency (code) | | taka (BDT)
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Telephones - main lines in use | | 1.39 million (2009)
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Telephones - mobile cellular | | 45.75 million (2009)
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Telephone system | | general assessment: inadequate for a modern country; fixed-line telephone density remains less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone subscribership has been increasing rapidly and has reached 30 per 100 persons domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities international: country code - 880; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-4 fiber-optic submarine cable system that provides links to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia; satellite earth stations - 6; international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2008)
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Internet country code | | .bd
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Internet users | | 556,000 (2008)
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Airports | | 17 (2009)
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Pipelines(km) | | gas 2,597 km (2008)
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Roadways(km) | | total: 239,226 km paved: 22,726 km unpaved: 216,500 km (2003)
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Ports and terminals | | Chittagong, Mongla Port
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Military branches | | Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army (Sena Bahini), Bangladesh Navy (Noh Bahini, BN), Bangladesh Air Force (Biman Bahini, BAF) (2009)
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Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 16 years of age for voluntary military service; 17 years of age for officers (both with parental consent); conscription legally possible in emergency, but has never been implemented (2008)
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Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 41,199,340 (2008 est.)
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Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 24,946,041 females age 16-49: 31,409,069 (2009 est.)
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Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 1,538,865 female: 1,666,670 (2009 est.)
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Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 1.5% of GDP (2006)
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Disputes - international | | discussions with India remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, exchange territory for 51 small Bangladeshi exclaves in India and 111 small Indian exclaves in Bangladesh, allocate divided villages, and stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh protests India's fencing and walling off high-traffic sections of the porous boundary; a joint Bangladesh-India boundary commission resurveyed and reconstructed 92 missing pillars in 2007; dispute with India over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; after 21 years, Bangladesh resumes talks with Burma on delimiting a maritime boundary
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Refugees and internally displaced persons | | refugees (country of origin): 26,268 (Burma) IDPs: 65,000 (land conflicts, religious persecution) (2007)
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Electricity - production(kWh) | | 22.99 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 93.7% hydro: 6.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
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Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 21.38 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
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Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
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Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 6,426 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 95,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 2,612 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 87,660 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 28 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
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Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 17.9 billion cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 17.9 billion cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008)
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Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 141.6 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 12,000 (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths | | fewer than 500 (2007 est.)
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Major infectious diseases | | degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria are high risks in some locations water contact disease: leptospirosis animal contact disease: rabies note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)
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Literacy(%) | | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 47.9% male: 54% female: 41.4% (2001 Census)
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years) | | total: 8 years male: 8 years female: 8 years (2004)
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Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 2.7% of GDP (2005)
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